Quick-setting device for brush holders



Dec. 31, 1929.

H.-KLECKLER QUICK SETTING DEVICE FOR BRUSH HOLDERS Filed Sept. so. 1926 s Sheet s-Shee r.

Hill HHHHH] vwowtoz Harry K/eck ler W h Dec. 31, 1929,

H. KLECKLER QUICK SETTING DEVICE FOR BRUSH HOLDERS Filed Sept. '50 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Dec; 31, 1929. I I 7 1,741,992

QUICK SETTING DEVICE FOR BRUSH HOLDERS v Filgd Sept. 50. 1926 S-SheQts-Sheet 5 1. I {1 2 Q Lil 5 5 9|! I Ei I 5 v Patented 31, 1929 UNITED STATES N F HARRY KLECKLE R, OF BINGHAMTON, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE TABULATING IA- CHINE COMPANY, 01 ENDICOTT, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION -01! 'NEW JERSEY QUICK-SETTING DEVICE FOR BRUSH HOLDERS Application filed September 30, 1926. Serial No. 138,795..

The invention concerns analyzing mechamsms for record sorting machines and has 'for'its principal object to increase the facility and insure accuracy of operation in the set- 5 ting of-such devices.

15 videfor accurately and automatically centering the analyzing mechanism in a selected analyzing position when it is manually moved to the vicinity-of such a position thereby ob-J viating tedious manual setting to the exact position. v v

Anotherfobject of the invention is to provide an improved brush holder construction permitting the brush holder to be readily re-.

moved from, its supporting structure butto prevent accidental removal when the structurels in operation. i

Another object of the invention to pro vide an improvedand novel system for energiz'in'g the brushes of an accounting machine.

Another-object of the invention is to -provide an improved analyzing mechanism supporting structure to permit movement of the structure into and out of operating position in a straight line.

Sorting machines are used-toseparate rec ords into groups conforming to certain classification data on the records. The commonest form of records which are sorted by these machines consists of cards divided into col- ;umns each of which may represent a desired class ofdata and which may be perforated in selected positions to indicate, particular.

data pertaining to the class. These perforations in the card columns represent possible classifications. of the cards and it is often desirable to separate all cards of a given clas sification from a group or to, arrange the cards 1 in order accordin to ap'redetermmed classification scheme. he function of the sorter is to thus separate or classify the record cards.

7 moved,

The majority of sorters now in commercial use analyze a single card column at a time onlyone analyzing element being provided which may be adjusted to cooperate with any desired card column. Sorters are of two general types, namely mechanical ones which analyze the perforations by moving-a pin throughthe perforations to set a system oflevers and electrical ones in which 'a'. brush' makes electric contact whenever it encounters a perforation to. close a control circuit. In either case the setup eflfected by the analyzing device selects a particular destination for the card depending on the position of its perforation; In other words, as the card passes the analyzing mechanism it automatically selects a dischar' e rack for itself corresponding to theclassi cation represented by the position of itsperforation. If the classification data includes more than one cardv column successive sortings are necessary to arrange the card according to the complete classification. Thls sorting mechanism is well known to the art and will not be described in detail, the pres-' ent invention being limited to the analyzing device.- v

The invention is applicable to mechanical as well as electrical sorte-rsalthough by way of. example it is herein disclosed as applied to an electrical machine of the Hollerith type,

in which theanalyzing is done electrically by a conducting brush beneath which the cards are fed. As these machines are ordinarily provided with only one analyzing brush it is necessary to shift this brush into cooperative relationship with the different card columns which it is desiredto analyze. Thepresent invention provides for manually shifting the mechanism byi-means of a'coarse or a fine adjustment and rovides for accurately cen-' terin'g and positively holding the analyzing brush in position to search the desired cardcolumn. The'fine adjustment consists of a feed screw which when operated feeds the brush supporting mechanism through small.

distances'which can be very accurately adjusted owing to the difi'erential action of the I feed screw. The coarse adjustment pe rmit-' ting'the brush supporting mechanism to be y through large'distances con 9 of anew position whereupon release of the disconnecting mechanism will permit the device to automatically reengage thefeeding screw. The brushsupporting mechanism is positively held in any of its analyzing positions by means of a tooth or projection there-- on engaging with a dentated member whose teeth are so shaped. as to accurately center the device to the nearest analyzing position.

The invention may be most clearly understood from the following detailed description which should be read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which the same reference characters .refer to the same parts throughout the several views and in which Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of record feeding mechanism with the analyzing brush and its supporting structure shown'in section;

Fig. 2 is a frontelevation of the analyzing section of the sorter;

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the same and,

Fig. 4 is a side elevation. Referring to Fig. 1, a group of record cards indicated at 50, which are to be sorted in' accordance with the perforations in one of their columns, is shown in a card rack indicated generally at 51 with a suitable picker 52 and picker operating mechanism 53. The picker 52 when the machine is in operation is adapted to feed the cards one at a time to the feed rolls 54 and 55 of which the former feeds them to the analyzing mechanism andthe latter removes them therefrom after they have been analyzed. The feed rolls are so spaced that the card is in continuous motion while -it is being analyzed and after passing the analyzing brush it is'continued in motion by additional feed rolls (not shown) until deposited in the proper discharge rack selected by the analyzing mechanism. This mechanism is well known'in the art and needs no further description.

The analyzing mechanism located between the rolls 54 and 55 consists of a conducting cylinder 56 on whose surface rests a brush 57 mounted in a brush holder 58 by means of a set screw 59 permitting its ready removal and replacement. The brush holder 58 has an upper part 60 insulated from the brush holder proper and drilled to fit on a stud 62 attached to a brush holder support 61. The stud 62 is provided with a groove 64 with which a shaft 63 when in the position (shown in Fig. 1) cooperates to firmly lock the brush holder to the stud. The shaft 63is rotatable by a handle (Fig. 2) and is provided with a flat surface 65. When the shaft 63 is turned to present its flat surface to the stud 62 the brush holder may be freely removed from the means to be hereinafter described'such removal is prevented whenever the brush 57 is in contact with the cylinder 56.

The brush supporting structure 61 is sup-- ported on a feed screw 72 extending longitudinally of the machine frame 71-and journalled at each end in floating bearings 73 which are movable'vertically but restrained provided in an element 81 mounted on a pivoted member 82 which is biased by a spring 93 to force its lower edge into the grooves of the feed screw threads. The pivoted member 82 is provided with a handle 83 through which it may be rotated against the force of the spring 93 and Temovethe element 81 from driving connect-ion with the ,feed screw. Rigidly fastened to the machine frame 71 directly in front of the brush supporting mechanism is a dentated plate 91 with whose teeth a tooth 84 formed on the brush support 61 co-acts to hold the support in any analyzing position in which it is fed. Sufficient lost motion is provided between thefeed screw and the brush holder support so that the tooth 84 will accurately seat itself in one of the teeth on the member 91 thus holding it firmly and centering it in an analyzing position.

The feed screw 72 has'a cam 77 on each end thereof which as may be seen in Fig. 4 consists generally of a cylindrical surface with a small depression80 therein. These cams cooperate with rollers 79 pivoted on the machine frame 71 and when the operating handle 90 of the feed screw is rotated the rollers acting on the cams 77 cause the feed screw 72 to rise against the action of the springs 76 and the screw in rising lifts the brushholder support 61 removing the tooth 84 thereon from the teeth of the plate 91. Rotation of the handle therefore causes the support 61 to feed along the feed shaft the adjacent notch in the plate 91 and hold the brush supporting structure firmly at its new position. The feeding connection between the feed screw 72 and the supporting strucure 61 may be removed by rocking the member 82 around its pivot by means {of the handle 2o brush support 61. The. groove extends subv83 to carry the member out of the grooves of the screw threads on the feed screw 72. When thus rocked, if the member 61 is raised at .the same time to disengage the tooth 84 from the plate 91 the brush support61 can be freely moved along the feed rod 72 and I when releasedwill automatically reengage ;the feed screw and accurately set itself in a new analyzing position.v

permits the brush support to be fed slowly by. the operating handle 90 or to be'shifted quickly by hand to different parts of the feed screw-thus providing for fine and coarse adjustment of the analyzing brush.

The brush holder support 61 is guided in its longitudinal movements by a member 69 which extends between and is supported byf the end structures of the machine frame 71.

i i This member is provided with a deep groove 9 into which fits an extending flange 67 on the stantiallyfthe entire length of the member 69 and therefore guides the brush holder and brush support accurately throughout its'entire longitudinal travel. The groove 9 is deep enough and the flange 67 long enough to maintain guiding connection regardlessof whether the feed shaft 72 and consequently the brush holder is in its raised or lowered position. I This groove and flange cooperating with the feed shaft and the slots 74 in the. machine frame also assist in guiding the brush holder and its support in'its upand down movement and, .prevent its rotation straight axialline .of the cylinder 56 and per-.

about the feed. shaft 72. This guide mechanism causes the brush 57 to center on a mits it to be removed from and-applied to the cylinder in a direction normal to the surface thereof. 1 I v The brush 57 is energized from a long conducting plate or rail 95-which is fastened to the guide 69 and insulated therefrom by insulating members 98 and 99. The conductor and the insulating members are secured to the guide member by suitable screws 10 provided with insulating bushings 511. The brush holder 58, whichis of conducting material and in electrical contact of the brush 57, carries a contact member 12 mounted in a shouldered aperture in the brush holder and forced into contact with the conducting rail by a spring 13- The contact 12 is provided with an enlarged head 14 to ermit itto maintain contact with the con ucting rail 95 in they raised as well asthe lowered position'of the brush holder. The contact may be .yieldingly held out .of "en agement with the conducting rail by a hand utton 15 at the end of a shank 16 which is integral.

with thecontact 12 and extends through the brush holder. This construction insures a firm. electrical connection between the enerf 7 gizing rail and the brush holder regardless of the contacting edge his arrangement the conducting rail and permitsthe energizln-g clrcuit to be temporarily broken at will.

and thereafter automatically reestablished.

The guide member 69 is provided with another groove 18 into which extends'a proection 68 on the upper portion 0f the rush holder. This groove-and projection while-permitting the brush holder to slide freely in response to setting -operations prevents its removal from the stud 62" as long as the brush 57 is in contact with the cylinder 561 It is then impossible, regardless of the position of the locking shaft 63, to remove the brushholder from its support as long as it is in analyzing position. When'the brush holder is raised vertically the projection 68 clears the slot -18 within the limits of the upward movement of the brush holder permitting the latter to be readily removed from its support 61'on release of the locking mechanism 63.

The analyzing positions of the brush 57 are fixed for cardsof a given type as the brush must traverse the center line of possible perforations in a "column. The present feeding mechanism is designed so that a" single turn of the feedinghandle will feed the brush from the center line of. one "card column t the center line of the next adjacent one, and

the teeth on the plat'e 74 are designed to accurately center the brush in proper analyzlng position. whenever the *feed shaft 72' is .re-

leased to the actionsof the spring76 The sloping sides of the todth 84. coact 'Wlth the sloping sides of the teeth in the member 91 serving to guide the tooth 84 to the bottom of the slot between ad acent teeth and accurately centering it. The teeth on the part 91 are designed so that when the tooth- 84 is moved from one slot to the next adjacent one the brush 57 will move from the center line of one card column to the center line of an adjacent card column.

The position of the brush 57 is visually mdicated by an index 94 mounted on the brush holder'su'pport 61- 'coacting with a scale engraved on a plate 31 on top of the machine the adjacent column. This adjustment is used for columns'either ad acent 'or'close to each-other in. which one or several revolutions :of the handle will quickly adjustjthe brush to its desired position as indicatfed on the scale on plate 31. When the analyzing brush. "is to be shifted from one card column-tea distant "one the driving connection between the feed shaft 72 and the brush holder support 61 is removed by' rocking the lever 82 through the handle 83. At the same time the brush holder may be raised to disengage the locking tooth 84 from the teeth of plate 91. The brush holder and its support may then be moved freely the entire length of its feed if'desired and released at any desired point whereupon it will automatically lock itself in the nearest analyzing position and automatically resume driving connection with the feed. screw 72. Owing to the compact arrangement of the device this entire group of plperiations can be readily performed with one The invention has now been described as applied to a complete operative embodiment of the same and it should be understood that the construction shown is intended in an extemporary sense only and that many modifications and rearrangements vgill readily occur to those skilled in the art. For example the invention is quite as applicable to a mechanical sorter as to an electrical one. I intend to be limited therefore only as indicated by the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable analyzing device for ac counting machines comprising an analyzing element, supporting means therefor and means for independently effecting a coarse and a fine adjustment of said element on'its supporting means. j v

2. An adjustable analyzing device comprising an analyzing element, supporting means therefor,'m'eans for independently effecting a coarse and a fine adjustment of said element on its supporting means and means for positively locking said element in its adjusted positions.

3. An adjustable analyzing device comprising an anaylzing element, a support therefor, a differential device for accurately adjusting said device on its support and releasable' means .operatively connecting said element to said differential device to permit manual a justment of said element independently of the differential device.

4. An adjustable analyzing device comprising an analyzing element, a support therefor, a differential device for accurately adjusting said device on its support, yieldable means normally connectin said element to said differential device for rivin action and means for temporarily disconnecting said element from said difierential devi'ceto permit manual adjustment of said element independently of the differential devicebut permitting automatic reengagement of said device with said d fferential on release thereof.

.5. An adjustable analyzing device ing an analyzing element, a support-therefor,

an adjusting mechanism for adjusting said device'on said support,; locking means for holding said element in any adjusted position and means controlled by said adjusting mechanism for positively releasing said locking means to permit free movement of the analyzing element to a new adjusted position.

causing it to become positively effective at the termination of an adjusting operation.

7. An adjustable analyzing device comprising an analyzing element, a support therefor, an adjusting mechanism for adjusting said device on said support, locking means for holding said element in any adjustedposition, means for constantly urging said looking means to locking position and means controlled by said adjusting mechanism for releasing said locking means during an adjusting operation to permit free movement of the element to its new position.

8. An-adjustable analyzing device comprising a support, an analyzing element mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof, movable supporting members for said support to permit lateral movement of said element andlocking-mechanism for said element to hold it against longitudinal movement said mechanism comprising operating means to render said lockin mechanism effective in one position of sai support and to release it in an alternative position.

9. An adjustable analyzing device comprising a support, an analyzing element mounted thereon for longitudinal movement thereof, yieldingly movable supporting members for said support biased to a normal operative position and a locking device for said element comprising releasing mechanism operated by the movement of said supporting member from normal operative position.

10. An adjustable analyzin' prising a movable analyzing e ement, a feed screw therefor, and driving connections be tween said feed screw and movable element comprising means for releasing the driving connection to permit movement of the element independently of the feed screw.

11. An adjustable analyzing device comprising a movable analyzing element, a feed screw therefor and driving connectlons bedevice comtween said feed screw and elementcomprising means forreleasing the driving connection to permit movement of the element independently of the feed screw and means for yieldingly holding said connections in drivlngposition.

'12. An adjustable analyzing device comprising a support, an analyzing element mounted thereon for longitudinal movement screw therefor, driving connections between said element and the'feed' screw, andlatera-lly movablebearings for said screw to permit movement of said analyzing element out of analyzing position during feeding operations.

15. An adjustable analyzing device comprising a movable analyzing element, a feed screw therefor, drivlng connectlons between said element and said feed screw, laterally movable bearings for said screw to permit.

movement of said element out of analyzing position during feeding operations and means for yieldingly urging said element to analyzing position. v

16. An adjustable analyzing device comprising a movable analyzing element, a feed screw therefor, drivingconnections between said element and said feed screw, laterally movablebearings for said screw to permit movementof said element out of analyzing position and means operated by said feed screw to move said element out of analyzing position during feeding operations.-

device comprising a movable analyzing e ement, a feed 17 An adjustable analyzin screw therefor, driving. connections between said element and said-feed screw, laterally movable bearings for said 'screw to ermit movement of-said element out of .ana yzi-ng position'and means operated by'said feed cient to maintain guiding restraining said element to its longitudinal path and a telescoping connecting means between said element and said guide for maintaining guiding cooperationtherebetween on lateral movements of said element, said connecting means including a member fast to said element and projecting into said slot.

20. An adjustable analyzing device comprising-an analyzing element mounted for longitudinal and lateral movement, a common stationary guide member for restraining said element to its longitudinal and lateral paths and a telescoping connecting means between said element and said guide member for maintaining guiding cooperation therebetween. v

21. An adjustable analyzing device comprising an analyzing element mounted for longitudinal and lateral'movement, a common stationary guide member for restraining said element to its longitudinal and lateralpaths, said guide member comprising a guidmg surface and a coacting pro ection-on said element of suflicient length to engage said surface in 'anylateral position of said element.

22. An adjustable analyzing device comlongitudinal and. lateral movement with prising an analyzing element mounted for 1 means forlimiting the lateral movement, a

guide member for restraining said element to its longitudinal and lateral paths provided with a groove and a projecting flange on said element engaging in said groove, said groove and flange having dimensions in the direction of lateral displacement of said element sufiicooperation throughout the extent of lateral movement of said element.

:In testimony whereof I" signature. 7

. HARRY- KLECKLER.

hereto aflix my screw to move said element out of analyzing position during feedingoperations and re-- turning it thereto at the termination of such operations. i

' 18. An adjustable analyzing device com-y prising ananalyzing element movable longitudinally to aplurality of analyzing positions and analyzing position, a feed --scr ew for said element, dIlVIIlg connections between said ele;

laterally movable j ermit lateral I ment and said feed screw, bearings for said screw to movable laterallyout of operative amp movement of said elementlwhi emaintaining driving connection and means, operated by said ing positions.

screw in longitudinally feeding said dey I vice for movingflit laterally between analyz 19. An adjustable analyzing device comprising an longitudinal and lateral movement, a stationary guide member provided witha slot for analyzing element. mountedfor 

